With a win out of the equation chasing an improbable 388, assistant coach Graham Thorpe has called England batters to show discipline and resolve on the final afternoon and dig in to save the New Year’s Ashes Test at the SCG.
Thorpe wants lessons taken from successive defeats and hammerings in the last three Tests put into practice by English batters as they fight hard to try and salvage a draw in the fourth Test, which would also avoid the embarrassment of a 5-0 Ashes whitewash.
England openers Zak Crawley and Haseeb Hameed played out 11 overs for 30 runs late on Day 4 to infuse a sense of belief and confidence within the side.
But Thorpe was aware that to keep the Australians at bay for the whole of January 9, his team and especially the middle-order will have to individually do the heavy lifting over longer periods of time than they have through the series.
“With some of the injuries we’ve got, we’re going to need two, three or four of our players to really stand up and bat for a long time,”
“I want us to play positively, with a good mental approach, and I was pleased with the way Zak and Has went about it tonight. They moved well, and you could see their intent, defending well and being able to put away the ball which came along to actually score off.
That’s important too, because scoring runs is important for your confidence, even when you’re trying to play for a draw,”
Thorpe was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo, speaking in context of injuries to first-innings centurion Jonny Bairstow and struggling wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler.
Bairstow and Buttler didn’t take the field for Australia’s second-innings on January 8 after being sent for X-rays. Bairstow sustained a blow to his thumb while batting during his brilliant hundred in the first half, while Buttler seemingly also tackled a hand injury as he struggled to properly grip his bat.
There is a likelihood of the SCG Test being the last fixture of the tour for premier allrounder Ben Stokes as well. Stokes suffered a side strain on Day 2 of the Test match, and having opted to remain on the field despite that, he could be given time to properly recover via rest from the fifth and final Ashes Test at Hobart, starting January 14.
